Antedating of "tree hugger" (1965)

[Sam Clements]

OED and MW use 1982.(OED has a 1977 cite for a park ranger who loves trees.  Not the same, in my mind.)  Ca. 1982 is certainly when the term was used as a perjorative.

But this AP story out of Chicago was ahead of its time.  

Seeing as how the Chicago papers haven't been digitized, we turn to the 

10 Sept. 1965 Appleton(Wi) _Post Crescent_  1/4-5(Newspaperarchive)

<<The battle was between the tree huggers and the city./The city won, 100-0./Conservationist Stuart Chase describes the holding action on the lakefront Thursday:/They started up their chain saws and, with blades whirring, charged at us and cut the trees off right on top of us.  They tried to drop trees on people and waved whirling chain saws at everybody.  If people had been chained to the trees, they would have been cut in half.>>

Almost sounds like Cronkite/Rather calling the Chicago Democratic Convention. :)

Sam Clements